Judge warns dealer who served Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford to prove he is ‘not just a worthless addict’
He ran two lucrative lines known to police
A young drug dealer who helped supply to the major cities across West Yorkshire has been freed from custody, but warned to prove he was “not just a worthless drug addict”.
Zayd Khan was caught running two known drug lines that bombarded desperate users with bulk messages and offering deals.
He was also trusted with employing and arranging runners to drop the drugs off.
But the 20-year-old was given a chance after being handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court this week.
Khan had been responsible for running the two phone lines selling crack cocaine and heroin from the Beeston area, where he lives.
He and another man were running one line in June of last year, but Khan took over when the second male was arrested.
It was heard that the messages were sent out to addicts in Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford.
Khan was arrested on an unrelated matter in June of this year but had more than £6,200 in cash in his possession.
Officers also seized mobile phones, one of which was connected to a second drugs line. Again, bulk messages sent to addicts were found.
He was bailed, but on August 8 police raided his home and found further phones, £950 in cash and 25 grammes of crack cocaine worth £2,500.
Khan, of Ingleton Street, Beeston gave a no-comment interview to police.
He admitted four counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, one of dealing in Class A drugs, possession of cannabis and two counts of possessing criminal property.
He appeared in court over a video link from HMP Doncaster where he was being held on remand.
Mitigating, Abigail Langford said Khan was “extremely remorseful” and had come from a good family background.
She added: “He has deep shame and recognises he had ruined what was a very good life with his family.”
The court heard that Khan became involved because of his own drug problems.
The judge, Recorder Anthony Hawks, acknowledged Khan had no previous convictions.
He told him: “You are 20 and come from a decent family that you have spectacularly let down.
“I’m prepared to accept that this all came about because of your addiction to drugs.
“That’s the problem with taking drugs, you get in over your head, get in debt and you mix with serious criminals.
“The result is you end up in a prison cell. I’m told you don’t like it much, well more fool you.”
He gave him a three-year sentence, suspended for three years, with a probation requirement and a six-month GPS monitoring tracker.
Recorder Hawks added: “I’m giving you an opportunity to prove yourself to your family than you are more than just a worthless drug addict.”